Defender Of Man: Vengance of the Witch
by Serenity's Arrow
Summary: Five year's after being trapped in a game that she loved, Kassondra soon finds herself facing the last person she would ever expect. Her sister Amber. But with a secret dealing with the evil witch Flemeth, can Amber save her sister, or lose her forever?
1. Prolouge

She had lied.

She had betrayed her.

How could that tiny little whelp betray her? Ah! HER! How dare that foolish girl from another world betray the mighty Witch of the Wilds?

She will have her revenge...she will have her day, and she will have Morrigan and that bastard of a child!

She will be back!

Flemeth watched from the shadows as the small group of friends walked down the narrow path, surrounded by merchant tents all trying to sell their wares. She had been watching them, and she couldn't help but smile. She didn't have much power left to her, not after that little bitch killed her. Little did that whelp know, she really didn't kill Flemeth, ohh no. She just sent her to another world. Her's.

Flemeth sat back in her chair, and started to focus on the glass ball that she had placed in front of her. Oh these mortals, with their fairs, and events that mimicked her old world, and the past of these mortals. She had watched this group for a month now. Using her skills, and whatever little magic she had. Changing into small birds, and spiders to hear what they say to make this part of her plan that more easier.

Seven. There was seven of them that she had known, so far, but right now, only three were walking together. Two blondes, and one brunette. The men must have gone to "fight" in epic battles that they could only imagine, and never actually participate in. Unless they take her offer.

"Come my dears, do you wish that old Madame Andraste tell you you're lovely futures?" She waved her arms in front of her, and tried to smile as sweetly as she could.

The smaller blonde shook her hand and tried to continue her walk, but the taller blonde standing next to her stopped, and grabbed the others' hands.

"Oh come, come Brandy!" pleaded the taller one to the other blonde.

"I just don't like that stuff."

"I'll do it with you Ingrid," spoke up the brunette, as the one called Ingrid pouted her lip at the one called Brandy.

"Brittney will do it with me! Please Brandy-please-please-please?"

Brandy frowned at Ingrid, then finally said, "Fine...Only if we go and get something to eat right after this!"

Ingrid smiled and then held out her right hand showing the one called Brandy her small figure, which just intrigued Flemeth. "I pinky-swear."

Brandy then smiled, and then used her right little finger and wrapped it around Ingrid's, sealing a deal, or a pact or doing some sort of ritual that Flemeth have yet to understand.

In any rate, the three women walked under Flemeth's canopy and sat on the cushions that surrounded the glass ball in front of her. She smiled at the girls, dressed from what little research she did in this world, as warriors from an old tribe that used to live in the far north, and sack villages that were next to the seas.

She slowly looked at each of them, as they settled themselves around her, and kept that smile on her face. She needed to, in order to pull this off.

"So...how much will this be?" asked the one named Ingrid, sitting to the right of Flemeth. She was older then the other two, but held youth in her blue green eyes, and held a spark that she couldn't place.

"This will not cost a thing...for..." She looked to the one called Brandy that sat across from her. _Now, this one...she will be difficult... _She thought to herself, as she looked into the chilly blue eyes of defiance, and strength. She continued to move her head to the left, to finally rest her sight on the last of the three girls. Brittney. Unlike the other two, Brittney held something that the other two had missed.

"...For I sense a great lost..." She returned her eyes back to Brandy, and held her gaze. She broke the gaze by closing her eyes, and raising her hands into the air. "...a lost that had snapped the lines of faith, and love. Lost...Lost in a world that does not exist in this but in a play of sorts...a world that holds both dragons and blights... " She kept her eyes shut, remembering that little whelp that had wanted to escape this world, and enter Flemeth's.

"...born on the day of death...her name bares all the truth of her as she is the defender of man," She opened her eyes up, and started to roll her wrists in the air, casting a spell on the ball, showing a fuzzy image of a person whose back was facing the women. She looked at each of the women, as they were captivated by the glass ball. "Protector of man...confuser of man...deceiver of man...and..." Flemeth then waved her hands over the ball, putting on a show of her magic. She looked at all three, taking note of Ingrid's jaw slowly hanging open, Brandy's terror and anger, and Brittney's shock as the image became clearer, showing a young girl, with short dark brown and dark auburn curly hair. Her back still faced them, but in her hands they could see a round shield with circles and lines on it, as a sword came crashing down on it. The figure dropped her shield turning to her left, and let her blood red and curved sword swing with all her might, cutting the attacking shadow's arm off. All three gasped as the figure whirled around, facing them, with blood spattered on her face.

"...destroyer of man...Kassondra..."


	2. Captain

It was hotter then hell, or so Kassondra thought as she and a small group of guards and a carriage traveled to was also way to early to be this hot, which just told her that it was going to be an unusual hot and humid spring day in Ferelden. It was times like this, that she had wished that Ferelden had electricity, cars with air conditioning, or a fridge to open and stand in front of, like she use to do at home. It didn't help that she wore her thick-studded leather armor with her captain's helm, and it felt like a hot oven under it all. Her horse that she was riding shook it's mane, from either the heat, or the swarm of bugs that started to act like an extra layer of armor, which just made her that more uncomfortable. Shifting her position in the saddle she looked around the countryside looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. She was now a knight, and the Captain of the King's Guard, after she had turned down being a Grey Warden. She didn't belong there, as a Grey Warden and everyone knew why, well almost everyone.

"Captain?"

She sighed as she urged her horse to move closer to the carriage that was in front of her, to the young girl that was sticking halfway out of the window waving to her. Kassondra didn't want to know this new girl, this new noble sent to win the heart of King Alistair, and make her his Queen.

"Yes, M'lady?" Kassondra gritted, praying to the Lord, her God, and not the Maker, that this girl wasn't going to ask more questions about Alistair. For what else was there to say except that he was everything that Kassondra had hoped for in her world. In her life before all of this epic-ness that she had on many occasions had said.

"Do you know how long it will be till we reach the palace? I am so tired, and it is so hot outside!" Whined the noble, fanning herself with a light blue silk fan. Kassondra couldn't keep the disgust off her face.

"We won't get there till around mid-day. And I would highly suggest that you stay in the carriage M'lady. The bugs seem to be getting worse, and we wouldn't want the King to see you with bug bites all over you're skin..." Kassondra then took her horse's reigns and steered away from the carriage towards the front guard. She hated this, this job anyways. So far the journey was an utter nightmare to her. She would have rather be in the Amaranthine with Darrian. It was several months since the battle with the Mother, and time seemed to stand still for her. The darkspawn, as promised by the Architect, all vanished into the deep roads, so that left her to deal with the not important saving the world business, but with being an escort for the next hopeful Noble girl, and standing around the castle doing nothing.

"No. As much as you want to kill her, I refuse to be the next Captain...Captain," said a fellow guard on horseback, when Kassondra rode up next to him. This put a little smile on her serious face as she kept watch of what was ahead of them.

"Pitty," she replied as she concentrated her gaze on a hill that seemed to tower over the road in front of them. This part of the West Road was known for it's hills, and for the robbers that hid among them. Luckily they were slowly going over a much larger hill that enable her to she see if anything was on top of the one that laid ahead. So far nothing was seen, but she still didn't trust it anymore then she trusted Zevran with any open alcoholic beverages that she was drinking from.

"Brian, take four men, and go around that hill. I want to make sure there isn't someone wanting to take money off of us," she pointed to her current worry not taking her eyes off of it. There wasn't any trees in this area, just tall grass, and some wheat from the local farms. She could see anything for miles, and unfortunately, so could anyone else. They were sitting ducks.

Brian nodded his head, waved his hand in the air, and galloped with four men behind him to the hill. This needed to go as fast and as smooth as possible. The less time she spent with another "contestant" as the rest of guards named them, the better. Her head knew that she could never be with Alistair, but her heart would hear none of it. It was slowly breaking in two, and it took all of her strength to keep it together. To keep herself together.

Shaking her head of the emotions that started to well up inside, she needed to keep a clear mind. For if it was a trap, she needed to think straight. She raised her right hand in the air, holding her hand open, showing all of her fingers, signaling for the five men she had picked earlier to stay on guard for another signal. For the rest of the fifteen men that she had asked, they surrounded the carriage in a protective diamond shape formation. She had made up the code of signaling, or took it from the movies that she had watched at home, and formed her own version of it. It worked, and it was quick to learn which was a must for her when she assumed the leadership of the King's Guard. Along with the new formations also taking place, she was almost conscripted into the Grey Wardens, if it had not been for Darrian stepping in. She never thought she was that good, apparently she was.

She watched patiently as the five men quickly spread out, two staying on the road, while the other three charged around the base of the hill. Kassondra then signaled everyone to stop. Holding up her middle finger this time, signaling not the swear word, or the offensiveness that she grew up knowing as, but for an archer. For archers, as everyone knows, use their middle finger to pull back the string of the bow. She then quickly threw down her arm telling the archer she needed him there now. She was good with a bow, but not at a long distance as this. She silently watched the hill, waiting. One of the men from the five men group separated from the others and stood on top of the hill. The guard then raised his hand in the air and signaled that they better move quickly. Safe for now.

"Yes Captain?" The archer that she had signaled earlier appeared to her left.

"Watch that hill. I don't want to lose men when we are so close to home." She then signaled to move out and they proceeded. Ever so slowly, ever so carefully, to Denerim, to where she longed, yet hated to go.

Hours passed, and then finally they made it without any...problems.

"I swear to you Brian, if I hear Captain one more time from her whorish mouth, I will cut off her head and throw it around like a ball!"

Brain smiled at her, as the journey was now almost over. They were just passing through the gates, which were still being rebuilt from the siege , almost a year ago. Surface Dwarfs had volunteered to help rebuild and Voldrik had just arrived about a week ago, at her's and Darrian's requests, to oversee the rebuilding of all of Denerim. It had taken awhile, and from what Voldrik had told her after he had first examined the walls, and gates was, "It is a wonder you at all survived!"

The people of the city were rebuilding themselves faster then the walls were. The main road into Denerim was lined with statues that honored the dead heroes that died protecting the city, and defeating the blight. So many in fact that the statues are everywhere in the city. In the Alienage for example are one statue dedicated to Soris, Darrian's cousin who had died by saving Leliana from a Hurlock.

Ridoran, King Calian, and Duncan all had their own statues too, but they were found in the market place leading to the Palace. Kassondra smiled as she saw some women put place flowers in front of a statue and who had also bowed their heads in prayer. Now the Chantry didn't like how the statues became more then just things that honored the dead. There were rumors that some of the people started to worship them, which in a way brought comfort to Kassondra as it reminded her of the saints from home. It took some great convincing on many people's parts, but slowly, even now the Chantry is bring Saint-hood to some of the most, "religious" Army of the Statues. Or so they are called.

She didn't talk to anyone once they entered the city, as her tradition, as she felt it was always a disrespect to the statues. She fought along side with some of these people since she had arrived here, and their deaths to her still stung. But alas, today her tradition was not to be held.

"Captain?"

She visibly cringed at the voice that she had started to hate.

"Don't..." Whispered Brain as he turned to smile at his friend. "I'm not as good as you are to break into Fort Drakkon, and all...if the stories are true that is..."

"I won't kill her...and maybe they are, and maybe they not..meet you at the Noble's Tavern?" sighed Kassondra. They were just entering the Palace Grounds, and in sight of Elissa Cousland's statue. Brain nodded his head, and they both dismounted their horses. Oh how good did it feel to actually walk for a little bit. Kassondra then handed her reigns over to one of the many stable boys that came to help to take care of the Guards and the Noble. She looked up to see that Arl Emamon, and Lady Isolde were standing on the stairs waiting to greet the Noble. Kassondra couldn't help but frown as a quick set of reality came to her. Well, as close as it could come to her. She wasn't an equal to them, not at all, which just infuriated her. She was born and raised in the United States of America, and she was taught both from a young age in history, school, and everyone around her, everyone was equal. Everyone had the same rights as the other person, and no one was deemed to above that. Of course it didn't stop people from treating others like crap and walk all over them. She was a student of history, and she knew the past and all the sins that America was founded on. But she still held to the idea. So living in a world were elves are treated horribly sent into what reminded her of the Jewish Gettohs of World War II, and that she a woman that stood by her friends, help defeat the Archdemon, pursauded Elissa to go to the Circle of Magi instead of killing Connor, and helped Darrian defeat the Mother, was treated like any other low solider, infuriated her. All in all, respect was earned, not given. If they respected her, she would in turn respect them.

She took off her helmet, and walked up and away from the Nobles. She did a slight nodd with her to the Arl, and Arlessa, which was rare since she didn't do it to any other noble except them, and Fergus Cousland. She smiled to herself as she made her way to her room, which was another thing that didn't sit well with the counsel. The Arl and the Arlessa didn't seem to mind her thing for equality, even when she didn't make a huge show of bowing to them like every other Noble demanded from her. But it was indeed strange that a Knight, and the Captain of the Guard, have a set of quarter's of her own, in the Palace. Gossip, and rumors flew around the court that she and Alistair had an affair going on, that she was his mistress. Which just made Kassondra laugh that much more. Even with her sense of "equality", she knew that Alistair and her could never be together. Even if her heart screamed otherwise.

She opened the door to her quarters and walked straight to the small table that stood on the far side of the room next to the window. A huge stone fireplace was to her left, and she was thankful that there was no fire lit that day. Yarn balls of every color, and size were scattered everywhere in her rooms, and this one being no exception. She had taught Ander's how to crochet, and even made him a hook out of dragon bone. He in turn tried to teach her how to knit, which now she was trying to make him a scarf. A very ugly scarf might I add.

She placed her helmet down onto the table before turning around and walking back across the room to close the door, and lock it. She really didn't want to be disturbed by anyone right at that moment in time. She took off her shield, and took off her belt that held her sword Dumat's Spine, and it's twin Dumat's Claw. Unhooking Dumat's Spine's scabbard from her belt, she heard a faint knocking sound coming from her door. Scowling, she placed her sword back onto the table next to her helmet and Dumat's Claw, and walked back to the door, unlocked it and opened it.

The door was then pushed open, almost knocking her back from surprise, as Alistair made his way into the room.

"Shut the door hurry!" He whispered, making his way to hide behind the door. She did as he asked, then started to laugh when she relocked the door.

"Hiding from the new competitor?" she laughed walking back to the table to finish what she was doing. "I actually thought you would like her out of all the others that had came here and had tried to suduce you!" She had her back to him, as yanked up her chainmail over her head. _Ah..._she thought throwing the chainmail over one of the chair's backs. _Much better..._

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her! I only spent a couple of seconds with her, and she is already driving me mad!" He stood there tugging his blond hair. He didn't look at her, not now that she was de-armoring...he looked quickly up from the floor to see if she had sat down and started to attempt that scarf that she had cursed and thrown across the room countless of times, but he looked back down to the floor when he saw that she was undoing her leather leggings. He could feel his ears turning red, as he tried to not imagine her taking off her clothes...

"Alistair!"

He looked back up to see that she had indeed taken off her leggings, but also the rest of her armor, and was now standing in plain trouser's, and a tunic that she always wore under her armor. Which wasn't strange at all, he just secretly wish she didn't wear that under her armor....

"Yeah...what?"

She tilted her head, and raised one of her eyebrows. "I said, did you want to go with Brain and I to the Noble Tavern tonight?" She tried to keep her firm sensible self, but her heart was fluttering madly in her chest. This was as close as she was going to get, to asking him out ever in his, or her life. And she knew that disguising it as a rescue mission for him, wouldn't make him suspect that she was in complete love with him. "Because as you know I am leaving for Amaranthine in two days, and since tommarow you are going to have you're hands full of...what's her name..."

"Eliza..." groaned Alistair as he walked towards Kassondra.

Kassondra smiled, and placed her hands on her hips, like she always did when she teased him. "Ohh...yes Eliza from White River. The one who is so madly in love with her King..." her smiled broaden as she held placed her left hand on the back of the chair that held her chainmail, bent slightly backwards, while holding her right hand in front of her face like a fan. "Oh King Alistair, how big, and strong you are!" She then placed her "fan" on her forehead, and acted like she was about to faint. "How do I compare to you? The mighty King who is just so handsome, and brave!"

"Hmm...I like that...Handsome..." he smiled back at her, and acted like he was stroking his "beard". He loved it when she acted like this. Not many people did in Ferelden, and this clownish nature was refreshing compared to the stren, strict ways of the court. The thing that he most admired about her, was the fact that she acted like herself, and not someone else. She freely said what needed to be said, and when she said it, she said it with such importance, and with such virgorance that she was hardly ever ignored or chastised for it. Which made her a huge favoirte amongst the common folk, the elves especially and a personal favorite of Arl Emanon. Who's wife kept telling Alistair that he should try to woe Kassondra, after Elissa had...Alistair shook his head. No, it was too soon for him to be thinking about Kassondra like that. They were friends, and if he was going to pursue her, he needed to make sure that he was truly in love with her, and that she wasn't a "rebound." Or whatever that meant, since she never really gave him the full definition of it.

She rolled his eyes at him, and slung her armor over her shoulder and arms, and walked to her bedchamber. "Whatever you say, you're Majesty...just let me quickly changed into something less riddled in sweat and a lot less smelly, and I will meet you at the stables in say....fifteen minutes?"

"Deal."

* * *

Ok. Quick history lesson here, or maybe. The reason behind I put in the middle finger signal was a tribute to how that signal became an offensive signal. Back during the hundred year's war, with England France fighting each other, the English use to take captured French archers, and cut off their middle fingers. Reasoning behind this is that, if the archer went back to fight, he couldn't use a bow, since with many of you may know, in order to draw a bow back, (in many western countries anyways...) you use you're middle finger. So before battles, the French would hold up their middle fingers to the English, showing them that they still had their middle fingers, so they could still fire back. How it got the F work with it, I do not know. If someone else knows another reason, or a different telling, then please share! I just thought you all might enjoy this little telling. :)


	3. High Heels

She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Amber stared open mouth at her tv screen, not believing what she saw. Sure she had heard of the rumors of a new character in the game that stood by your side in the Assault on Amarantine in Awakenings, how Branka's sheild was no longer available in Origins, and how EA games denies any of this. How some hacker must have made this new character, as they have no record of this "Kassondra". Amber just thought that this was just one big coincidence, and nothing to do with her sister who shared the same name as this new character.

She even listened to what Brandy, Ingrid, and Brittney had told her, about the strange fortune teller named Andraste who had showed them her long lost sister. They told her about what the fortune teller told them, and Amber couldn't keep her curiosity in check anymore. Digging out the game her sister had given to her on her twentieth birthday, Amber began to play the game she thought she would never play again.

Thus, the reasoning why she stared open mouth at the character that shared both her missing sister's name, but also her looks, voice and attitude. She kept trying to have her mage talk to "Kassondra", but the only response she would give was "Not now..." Or, "Another time maybe..."

She still couldn't believe it. She had a shield like Brandy had described, so could this actually be her sister?

Amber paused the game and stretched her arms looking at the clock on top of her tv. It was only ten at night, and she had the next week off. She looked around her apartment that she just moved into, and smiled at herself. She had just moved from her home in Michigan, U.S.A, to an apartment in Sydney, Australia. Another thing to check off the list of things she wanted to do before she died. A thing both her and Kassondra did, well, just her now.

She stood up and walked over to her kitchen, to make herself a bowl of ice cream, for what could be better then a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a video game? As she was dishing out ice cream for herself, she didn't notice the tv flicker. And only when she sat back down in front of it, did she notice it.

Alarmed that her xbox 360 was about to red-ring, she set down her ice cream and examined her xbox.

"Blast it!" She hissed looking back up at the screen to see if the game was shut off. She knew she should have just bought a new one here, instead of letting it be shipped with the rest of her stuff. She looked at the screen in confusion when she saw that the screen went black, and her anger started to rise. All she wanted to do this evening was play this blasted game, and relax. But no, or course the system had to shut down. She stood back up and walked over to her dinning room table to get her phone from her purse. She swore as the lights went off, and she swore even louder when she stepped on her favorite pair of high heels that she forgot to put back in the closet. That was the last time she was going to get that drunk again.

She fumbled through the darkness, and when she finally found her purse after breaking don't know how many dishes, the lights went back on. No longer angry, she was scared. She turned around like most people in when they were stuck in the dark. She didn't find anything that could physically harm her, but what held on the tv screen did.

Weird words in white where on the screen in the same lettering style like the ones in the game. Afraid her x-box was beyond fixing Amber fished around her purse for a notepad and pen. She needed to write down exactly what it said, for proof to whoever she would complain about the system to. Like her brother for instance, who would probably say that she was just stupid, or not even answer the phone if she called.

"Andaran atish'an...." she said, copying the words down. "...come to this world...where the Dragon's fly...where the evil of Darkness is defeated by the ones of the Grey...In Peace....vigilance..."

The room around her started to melt away.

"In War...victory..." She didn't look up from the final words that she wrote down on her notepad...the words that would change her life, and the life of her sister's in the other world.

"In Death...Sacrifice..."

That was when, Amber's reality shattered...sending her to the last person she would ever expect to see alive.

Her sister...Kassondra.

* * *

Kassondra quickly walked down the stairs of the servants entrance, and into the courtyard of the palace grounds. She didn't have to wear her cloak as no one would mind her walking around. Even though she was one of the companions, and her name was well known, she still was just that, a companion. She walked around the palace garden until she walked into her statue. Kassondra looked up and studied the face of Elissa Cousland, the Hero of Ferelden.

She couldn't but scowl at the woman that had single-handily won the heart and brought together people that would under normal circumstances killed each other, and beheaded the arch-demon. She gave her life so that Alistair would live, so he would be King like what everything that they had made, they had did, would be. Kassondra sighed as she looked away from the statue. She couldn't look Elissa in the eye, even if it was made out of stone. Everyone revered Elissa as a Hero without faults, oh only if they had known. For months, Elissa had treated Kassondra like a piece of trash, nothing more then a fly on a horse. The self-righteous air that surrounded Elissa made Kassondra turn from Elissa, causing deep rivalry in the group. And since Elissa was the leader...Kassondra was left out of most of the action. For instance during the whole thing with the Dalish elves Kassondra had asked Elissa if she could help, and Elissa had chosen Darrian and his twin sister Kallian to come with her along with Alistair of course.

Kassondra was bitter about not being able to go, but now looking back Kassondra just thanked Elissa. For she was able to talk, and start to become friends with Sten, Leliana, and Morrigan. Oh the look on Elissa's face when she had returned from the camp. Kassondra could just smile, and that was the start of the rivalry. Elissa did what ever she could to bash and embarrass Kassondra, but it didn't work. Morrigan, Leliana, Wynne, Zevran and Sten all stood up for Kassondra. Ignoring Elissa only brought out the more evil ways of her. Elissa knew that Kassondra liked Alistair, and just like the girls from Kassondra's old high school, Elissa started to win Alistair over. Till one night, Kassondra had to watch Alistair fallow Elissa into her tent. After that Kassondra did all of Elissa's dirty work. She even had to go to the circle herself for help for Conner since Elissa didn't want to go. The only reason why Kassondra did this, was because she didn't have to see Elissa and Alistair together. It just killed her.

Even though Kassondra disliked Elissa, she couldn't bring herself around to full hatred. As Kassondra gazed at the statue, she couldn't help but remember Elissa asking her for forgiveness the night before the battle of Denerim.

"You still can't destroy it...no matter how hard you glare at it."

Kassondra turned around to see Brain walking up.

"I don't want to destroy it...I just want to have a statue made of me...maybe just a little larger..." Kassondra held out her hands in front of her like an artist, sizing up the statue.

"Alright...alright...whatever you say my fair Lady...Now..." Brain came up behind Kassondra and took his arm in his like a gentleman would do for his date. "Shall we go off and celebrate a job well done?"

"In a minute...we got one more job..." Kassondra turned around to the castle gates smiling.

"No...really?"

Kassondra nodded her head and folded her arms across her chest. "He is the King you know..." A grin teased her lips as she looked at Brain.

"I don't care if he is Andraste herself! Remember the last time he came drinking with us?"

Kassondra stifled a laugh as she said, "It couldn't have been that bad...Besides, don't you think he needs to have a little drink and fun before...you know..." Kassondra took her arm away from Brain, and threw it instead over his shoulder. "Miss...Oh Captain what shall I wear?" She put on a fake southern accent from her world, and smiled.

"Sometimes...I just don't get you Cap..." Brain raised his eyebrow at his Captain, his friend who he would fallow into the Dark Roads with no questions asked. All Kassondra could do was smile as they waited for Alistair, and even as the three of them walked and joked to the Gnawed Noble Tavern, she just smiled. She missed her world sometimes, more parts then others, and this was one of them. She just wished that she had someone who truly understood her there with her. Who got her weird jokes, sayings, and thinking.

And when they got to the tavern, she couldn't help but to think of home, when she heard the pitter-patter of what sounded like to her, high heel shoes on the cobble stone streets. She banished those thoughts to the back of her mind, as she turned the corner and walked into the Tavern. She tried to throw her arms around the six-foot men, that she thanked God everyday she was friends with them, and laughed with them as both of them hoisted her up so that her feet didn't touch the ground.

Nothing was going to ruin this night.

But she didn't see the cloaked figure stumbling in the same high heel shoes that Kassondra had banished, stumble in right behind the laughing trio.

* * *

A sweet happy birthday shout-out for my sister who's birthday was yesterday, and the reason why this story is being written. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


End file.
